"Mad Max: Fury Road" Looks to Be Revving Up Again

Published at 7:54 AM CST on Mar 4, 2011 | Updated at 1:43 PM CDT on May 30, 2012

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This should give you a sense of how long "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been in development: There was a time when they actually wantedMel Gibson to be a part of it.

But delays, financial troubles, and even bad weather have conspired to keep director George Miller from returning to the world he created with 1979's "Mad Max." Until now. According to a report quoted by The Playlist, Miller will be restarting pre-production with an eye towards filming at the start of 2012.

Of course, there's a lot of ground to cover between now and then and, considering the bad mojo this project has had already, we'll take Miller's claims with some degree of suspicion.

However, Miller claims that the majority of the cast is set, with "Inception" star Tom Hardy (who is about two more castings away from being 2011's Sam Worthington, only charismatic and talented) and Charlize Theron leading the way. "I Am Number Four" breakout star Teresa Palmer is rumored to be in the mix as well.

Miller also - sort of - explains how "Fury Road" fits into the Mad Max canon:

"“It’s a relaunch and revisit to the world. An entire restructuring. That’s not to say that it’s not picking up or leaving off from the Mad Max you know already, but it’s a nice re-take on the entire world using the same character, depositing him in the same world but bringing him up to date by 30 years.”

So it's a remake/reboot/sequel/stand alone/entirely new/tangential story - why is everyone so confused?